The Hamas/Fatah split is, surprise of surprises, all the fault of the U.S. “Hamas threatens attacks on U.S.: Terrorist warns ‘Middle East is full of American targets,'” by Aaron Klein for WorldNetDaily.com:
TEL AVIV — Members of Hamas are debating whether to carry out attacks against the United States and may hit American targets if the U.S. continues to support Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ call for new elections, Hamas leaders told WND in a series of interviews.
“There is no doubt that Abu Mazen (Abbas) was encouraged to decide early elections after receiving American promises to support him politically and military,” Abu Abdullah, a leader of Hamas’ Izzedine al-Qassam Martyrs Brigades, the group’s declared “resistance” department, told WND.
The terror leader accused the U.S. of instigating a Palestinian civil war.
“Here the Americans did not support the elections, they actually gave their support and their encouragement to a Palestinian civil war. It is our duty to prove to the Americans that they chose the wrong policy exactly like it is the case in Iraq,” said Abu Abdullah, considered one of the most important operational members of Hamas’ so-called military wing.
Abu Abdullah told WND Hamas has not yet decided to attack the U.S., “but one cannot guarantee that this will be the situation if the conspiracy of chasing our government succeeds.”
Asked which U.S. targets Hamas would hit, Abu Abdullah replied, “Do you think that I can give you an answer to this question? I can say that the Middle East is full of American targets and the world has had the occasion to learn what are the weapons of the anti-American forces in the region.”
In a move widely seen as an attempt to dismantle the Hamas-led government, Abbas’ this past weekend called for new Palestinian elections, prompting violent clashes in the Gaza Strip between Hamas and Abbas’ Fatah party.
Hamas, which won parliamentary elections in January, has threatened to boycott the proposed new elections, calling them “illegitimate.”
Hamas-Fatah clashes in Gaza have killed at least 16 Palestinians the past five days.
According to multiple reports, the U.S. has been arming and training Fatah militants to bolster them in clashes against Hamas.
A number of Hamas members, including Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, have claimed in recent days Abbas’ call for new elections was orchestrated with the U.S.